NewsMax Attempts to Un-Punk
Topic: Newsmax
An Oct. 12 NewsMax article builds on the politicians-at-U2-concerts theme while ignoring its own role -- started by its own false reporting.

The article states: "First Sen. Rick Santorum and now Sen. Hillary Clinton have tried to cash in on the popularity of rock group U2 and its front man Bono by scheduling fund-raisers at the band’s concerts. But U2 wants no part of it."

That, of course, is not how NewsMax originally portrayed Santorum's presence at an upcoming U2 concert, falsely stating that U2 was "teaming up" with Santorum for a fund-raiser (as ConWebBlog previously reported). NewsMax has since changed the article (without telling readers) to reflect reality: Santorum got a luxury box for his well-heeled donors.

But now that Clinton's gotten in on the act, NewsMax is looking askance at the whole deal, noting that "backers can catch the concert in comfort with a wet bar, private bathroom and plush chairs in Clinton’s $7,000 suite" without noting that Santorum's backers are getting the same type of accomodations.

NewsMax also quotes a U2 publicist as saying, "The U2 concerts are categorically not fund-raisers for any politician – they are rock concerts for U2 fans." without noting that the comment was in response to Santorum's fund-raiser claims, as Santorum Exposed points out.

But again, NewsMax has yet to admit its original false story, which tells you about journalistic standards on the ConWeb.